Oh my Seoul

One cannot go to Korea without venturing out to Seoul. That is unless you are one of the brave adventurous souls who live in the chaos of Seoul. Seoul is a city of ten million people, by far the biggest city I have ever visited. This was my second visit to the city and I planned on hitting up some of the touristy sites this time around with a travel friend of mine. So in two days a scamper across the city of Seoul ensued…

Prior to traveling to Seoul it should be common knowledge that you should book a reservation at a hostel or hotel. It should be extremely obvious on a busy Korean holiday weekend. Not for this waygook (foreigner). Seoul is a massive city, chalked full of hostels and cheap places to stay. This does not mean they are easy to find and certainly doesn’t mean there will be rooms available. Seoul doesn’t have easy to spot “love motels” like other Korean cities do either. So after about 3 hours of wandering, a place was found. Surprising success, not advisable.

We stayed in an area around Insa-dong, a very famous shopping street in Seoul known for it’s arts, crafts, and souvenirs. About a ten minute walk from there is Seoul City Center, the heart of Seoul. A massive street splits down the middle of City Center in between is a long walkway and park with famous statues of Admiral Yi Sun-Sin and King Sejong. This area is packed with people, especially on a hot Korean Sunday. A fountain flanks the statue of the Admiral and hundreds of children and there parents play in the fountain. Beyond this is the statue of King Sejong and finally the massive and forboding Gyeongbokgung Palace or “ Palace of Shining Happiness”.

The palace was first built in 1394. It is truly a sight to behold and at it’s height contained 330 buildings and covered about 4.5 million square feet. However, during the Japanese Occupation most of the palace was destroyed. Today only 40 percent of the palace buildings stand as the result of reconstruction by the South Korean Government. As you walk towards the palace today it is still a massive presence and I couldn’t help feel like I was walking into a scene from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. As you walk in you enter into a massive courtyard and finally through a series of gates you get to the scores of buildings inside, all beautifully painted and adorned in the traditional way. It can take all day to walk through the palace grounds and they are truly massive. It is a beautiful place to get away from the city bustle in the heart of the city itself. It has plenty of places to relax with large lawns and ponds. A must see in Seoul.

After the palace it was off to Insa-dong. If you are souvenir shopping for things unique to Korea this is the place to go. Make sure you go during the daytime to early evening hours since most shops close down relatively early. You will find your fix of Korean arts, crafts, souvenirs and evening some clothing in Insa-dong. Insa-dong is simply a street that stretched maybe a few hundred yards, lined with shops and vendors. I managed to buy Chinese and North Korean military medals from of the more unique shops. Whether they are genuine is another question.

There is all this hype about Itaewon among foreigners in Seoul, way too much hype. Itaewon is a district in Seoul that most foreigners in Korea will hear about. It boasts a unique atmosphere of all things foreign. Restaurants from nearly every culture imaginable can be found hear. If you are looking for cheap knockoffs of brand name clothing this is your place. I wasn’t impressed; perhaps this is because I was there during midmorning to early afternoon. The real strange things kick off at night from what I understand. Itaewon is indeed the destination for a foreign food fix. In fact they even have a Taco Bell, one of only two in Korea. Maybe I will give Itaewon another chance in the future.

The last stop on this trip to Seoul was Seoul Grand Park, a zoo on the southern edge of Seoul. The zoo covers a lot of area and on a hot day it can be an arduous walk. Seoul Grand Park is Seoul’s only zoo and was originally built by the Japanese during the occupation. It contains most animals you would find in zoos in the U.S. or elsewhere around the world. However, it lacks penguins, a big heartbreaker for me. It is a nice getaway from the city and wildlife is pretty scarce in Korea so this was a nice chance to seem some animals for a change.

Seoul is an incredible city. Its size is rather intimidating but is made to feel a little smaller with it’s excellent transportation infrastructure. There are so many things to do that spending 2 days will never do it any justice. So Seoul will always beckon the weary waygook English teacher for it’s change of pace and it’s excitement from the slow and often monotonous daily life of Mokpo. Seoul, I will see you again.

Links: Gyeongbakjung- http://www.royalpalace.go.kr/html/eng/main/sitemap.jsp

Insadong- http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SH/SH_EN_7_2_2_1.jsp

Itaewon- http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SH/SH_EN_7_2_6_1.jsp

Seoul Grand Park- http://grandpark.seoul.go.kr/Eng/html/main/main.jsp